


Magic Locked Away

by finniswriting



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Starvation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:01:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22276774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/finniswriting/pseuds/finniswriting
Summary: Family life isn't the same when you make your brother disappear.At first everyone becomes afraid of you.. but then.. they're angry at you. Very angry.So angry, that they lock you away.Forever.
Relationships: Harrison & Nerris (Camp Camp), Preston Goodplay & Harrison, Preston Goodplay & Harrison & Nerris, Preston Goodplay & Nerris
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	1. Unexpected Question

Summer had ended, and to no one’s surprise, everyone was sad over it. All of them had become one big family, and they weren’t ready to part. To make up for the separation, they all got in contact with each other, hell even David and Gwen made frequent checkups on the campers. They all were in one big group chat, except for Harrison. 

Harrison was excluded, though he didn’t mean to be. 

He didn’t have any way to stay in touch, no one in his town had mobile phones. The only phones they had were ones with the spiral cord and the one you’d have to spin to press in a number, those phones. Harrison wanted to use it, but he wasn’t allowed to. His only methods of communication were messenger pigeons, y’know the white doves he has for his tricks? Those ones, they’re quite smart. There were only two people he sent his pigeons to, Nerris and Preston. Together they were the performance trio. 

Needless to say, Nerris was more than thrilled to see a messenger pigeon at her window with a letter from Harrison. She was so excited she immediately facetimed Preston, showing him the pigeon in all its glory. The two decided on what to write back to Harrison, telling him if they could come over, hang out, have fun, do some magic, anything you could think of, the paper was full of text front to back. Eventually, it was a back and forth messaging spree, and Harrison was happy to see something nice in his dreary day-to-day life. Nerris and Preston had messaged him constantly, telling him what’s been going on, how everyone’s doing, and well, just about everything going on in their lives. 

That was the pattern, until one day, a simple question changed everything going on in his life.

-=-

Harrison was outside, messing with dead roots. Everything was back to being boring. There was nothing fun to do, he couldn’t even practice his magic tricks. 

Harrison sighed, kicking up dirt before sitting down cross-legged. He used a stick to draw little things in the dirt, things like Nerris and him fighting or Preston being loud. He smiled a bit, the thoughts bringing him some happiness. 

He was so deep in thought, he didn’t notice the sound of flapping wings before his messenger pigeon flew uneasily through the air and directly into his face. He fell onto his back, blinded by a faceful of white feathers. His hands grasped the pigeon and lifted it off his face. He sat up and set it in his lap, petting the pigeon. 

Normally he would have scolded it, but he saw the slightly unorganized feathers on one wing. 

“Dammit Harrison!” 

Oh. Now he knew why. 

“I told you to keep your pigeons in their cages!” His father yelled at him. Harrison noticed the rocks in his hands and only seemed to hold the pigeon close to him. 

“Sorry, Father. It won’t happen again..” 

“It better fucking not!” He snapped before stomping away to the, somehow, not dead crops. 

Harrison sighed and got up, brushing the dirt off his rear. He made his way to the house, attempting to hide the letter on the pigeon the best he could. 

He had liked it better when they were afraid of him. It wasn’t any better than it was now, he hated to see the fear in their eyes, but now he only saw anger. When he had got back from camp, their attitudes had changed. They no longer were the scared frail parents he had grown painfully used to, now they were angry, angry at him; and with that anger, they did terrible things. 

Harrison didn’t know why the sudden change happened, but when he asked his parents said they were tired of being afraid and they just want their real son back. 

Real son. That one hurt. 

They also had said when they visited on Parents day, he had made no actual progress to getting back Evan. But that’s not true! He did make progress!- he thought... 

Harrison didn’t know what to believe at that point anymore. He was starting to believe everything his parents said to him, and it hurt. It hurt really bad. 

He walked up the steps to his porch and opened the door. 

Eerie silent. 

He nervously swallowed before heading straight to his room. As he walked by the hallway, he sensed his mother’s presence. Thankfully, she was preoccupied and wasn’t in the mood, so he made it safely to his room and closed the door. 

He sighed in relief, pressing his back to and sliding down against the door. The pigeon squirmed uncomfortably in his grasp by now and he released his arms, not realizing he had accidentally squished it. 

“Sorry, Debbie..” He murmured an apology, and pat the pigeon’s head. 

She cooed under his touch, rubbing her head against his gloved palm. She lifted up her wing as Harrison reached and grabbed the letter, unfastening it from the small harness. He unraveled it, just sitting there and reading. By the end of the letter, he was shocked to see a certain sentence. ‘Can we come over to your house?’ 

He stared at that question for minutes. Could they? Would his parents be mad? Would they allow it? … 

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts, he couldn’t let anxiety get the best of him. He stood up, crumpling the letter into his pocket. Debbie stepped back a bit, fluttering her wings before flying up and onto a perch in Harrison’s room. The magician took a deep breath, before opening his door. 

His eyes looked around, no sign of his mother. He walked down the hallway before going into the living room. She was there, on the couch. 

“Harrison.” She grimly greeted her son, not even looking up from her knitting. 

“Uhm... M-Mother. Do you think-” 

“Speak up Harrison. I can’t hear you when you stutter.” He gulped, trying to swallow his nervousness. 

“Do you think I could.. have friends over…?” 

Silence. 

This was a bad idea this was a bad idea- his anxiety was swelling up-

“Are they witches?” 

“What? N-No of course not! I’d never make friends with a witch!” 

She looked up, making eye contact with her son. Her stare could kill him where he stood. He was so scared. She looked back down at her lap, continuing her knitting. 

“I suppose. Anything to get you away from us works.” Harrison felt instant relief. 

“Oh thank you, Mother! Thank you!” He ran out of the living room and back into his room, he wasted no time making a response letter.


	2. A Quest to Harrison's

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party makes there way to their third member.

Nerris wasn’t expecting to see Cedrick on her window this morning, normally she’d see Debbie. 

Cedrick was another one of Harrison’s messenger pigeons, he happened to be the fastest flyer out of the flock. He was being loud, pecking at the window and fluttering his wings. Loud repetitive coos came from his throat. 

“Alright alright. Jeez. I’m coming.” Nerris pulled the covers off and swung her legs over the side. She sat up, grabbing her glasses from her nightstand, before stretching with a yawn. She stood up and went over to her window, unlocking it and sliding it up. 

The pigeon eyed her, lifting his wing as she took the letter. 

“This must be urgent if he sent Cedrick…” She adjusted her glasses before starting to read. 

“Dear Nerris, The Fair Lady of the Elves, I have great news! Mother said that I can have friends over. I don’t know how long you can stay for, but I think how long you stay is up to your mom and dad. Please come over as soon as possible! It’s very lonely here. My address is 043 Drylake Road. Signed, Harrison. P.S. Bring Preston over. I miss both of you very much.” 

Nerris squealed in excitement. She scrambled back to her bed, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. She unlocked it, immediately dialing Preston. 

Ring… Ring… Ring… 

“Nerris? It’s 6:30… We don’t go to school until 8:30… that’s like- 2 hours from now..” 

“PRESTON! THIS IS MORE IMPORTANT!!! HARRISON SAID WE COULD COME OVER!” 

“WHAT?!” All the sleepiness in Preston’s voice was gone. “WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY SO?!” 

“I WAS GETTING TO IT!” 

“OH GOD, WE HAVE TO GET READY! WHAT ARE WE GOING TO WEAR, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO-” 

“Nerris! Honey! Go back to sleep please!” 

“Okay Mom!.. Right, no more shouting Preston.” 

“Fine.. but what are we going to do when we get there? OH! Can we do a performance?” 

“.. We’re doing whatever Harrison wants. He hasn’t seen us in a while- he’ll probably do magic tricks and we’ll all just chill out. So you need to chill out too.” 

“Maybe he’ll want us to do things we enjoy, too!” 

“We’ll squeeze in time for that don’t worry.” 

“Yes!” 

“And at the end of the day, we can all play a campaign and have wonderful adventures-” 

“Oh god this is gonna be so much fun! I’m thrilled to see him! Too bad there’s school today though, I want to visit him RIGHT NOW!” 

“Same. But we gotta wait. Well, today is Friday, so after school, we can see him and we’ll have the whole rest of the day to have fun. But we should go back to sleep-” 

“WHAT? After you EXCITE me THIS MUCH?! AN ACTOR NEVER SLEEPS!” 

“Okay if you’re tired at school don’t blame me.” 

“I won’t blame anyone, not even the love of THEATRE that courses through my veins.” 

“.. Just go to sleep dummy. Cya at school.” 

“Byeeeeee love youuu.” 

“Love you too Preston.” She ended the call. 

Cedrick waited patiently on her windowsill. “Oh right- I have to write a letter back.” 

-=-

Nerris sighed, it had been a long day. Her hands were grasping her backpack straps as she walked through the hallways. 

“Nerris!” 

She looked around, thinking someone had called her name, but she saw no perpetrator. 

“NERRIS!” 

That was much louder this time, it almost sounded like- “Preston?!” 

The said actor had pushed through the crowds and beelined for Nerris. He stopped in front of her on his tiptoes. “There you are! Let’s go SEE HARRISON!” 

He grabbed her hand, practically dragging her out the hallway. They pushed the door open and ran to the parking lot, not even noticing weird glances from students. They finally let each other’s hands go when Nerris started to run faster. 

“I bet I can beat you to my mom’s car!” 

Preston gawked. “No FAIR! ACTORS DO NOT RUN! And ELVES are FASTER THAN HUMANS!” But he still made an effort to run faster. 

The two almost ended up crashing into the car. Nerris pushed her hands out, stopping her collision. “I win!” 

Preston did the same, “You just got a head start!” He panted. 

“When danger lurks around at every corner, a mage has no time to slow down!” 

The window rolled down. “Are you two ready to go?” 

“Mom! Yeah we are! A quest to Harrison’s house!” Nerris and Preston opened the back doors, sitting down and buckling up. 

“Do you want to drop off your backpacks at the house? Or straight to Harrison’s?” 

The two looked at each other, “Straight to Harrison!” 

Nerris’s mother nodded, starting up the car and drove out of the middle school parking lot. The car drove down the street. 

“Did you bring your d&d paper thingy campaign stuff?” 

“Yup! Did you think acting props?” 

“Only a few that could be useful!”

“Is this skull useful?” She had been digging through his backpack and pulled it out. 

“HEY! I’m not looking through your backpack, you FIEND!” 

She laughed at him, putting the skull back. 

“I didn’t know Mages were THIEVES!” She gasped, offended. “You dare call the Fair Lady a thief?! I am appalled!” She crossed her arms. 

“Appalled you may be, but I am distraught!” He had his hand over his forehead dramatically, eyes closed. 

The two couldn’t keep character much longer and broke out into laughter. 

“So Nerris, where does Harrison live?” 

“Oh! One second-..” She unzipped her backpack and rummaged through it, taking out a wrinkled paper which she tried to smooth out. “Um.. He lives at 043 Drylake Road.” 

“Drylake Road…? Are you sure?” 

“It says in the letter, so I am positive!” 

“Okay.. why don’t we just pick Harrison up instead?” 

“What? Why? We’ve already prepared to go to his house.” 

“It’s just that.. Drylake Road isn’t that safe.. and I’d worry about leaving you two there.” 

“What’s so bad about Drylake Road?” Preston spoke up, curious. 

“Well.. It’s one of the oldest towns around here. The oldest in the state even. Been here since.. I believe 1488?-” 

“That’s incredible! How come I’ve never heard about it Mom?” 

“Well.. They have a reputation for witch-burning and hanging.. And it’s not appropriate to talk about in school considering well- they’re known to still do it to this day.” 

An unsettling amount of unease and dread-filled Nerris and Preston. They both looked at each other with the same scared expression and thought. Harrison’s magic. 

“That town only has around 100 people, and they all dress like they did back then from what I’ve heard, honestly it’s like they’re stuck in the 1550s.” 

They sat there awkwardly for a sec. “So.. why is it called Drylake?” Preston desperately did not want to be in an uncomfortable silent car ride. 

“Oh. Well when they first settled there, the lake was dry and the soil was unusable, so they had to dig a very deep hole in the lake, which, luckily enough, they found a large aquifer, and the lake filled up again. Crops were growing and it wasn’t dry anymore, but after a few years, the well ran out and the lake dried again, every crop died. So they called it Drylake, because it could never be full of water for long.” 

“How do you know so much about it Mom?” 

“I used to live in a town over. Not that far. In fact, we're pretty close to it, just a 30-minute drive.”

“Harrison was this close to me and I didn’t even know?! OUTRAGEOUS!” Preston half screamed. “Preposterous!” Nerris joined in. They giggled to each other. 

“Do you two want some music? We’ve got about 20 minutes until we get there.” 

“OH OH PUT ON HAMILTON!” Nerris’ mother chuckled, handing Nerris her phone, who unlocked it, took a cord from and plugged it into the phone, before handing it to Preston, in which he took it politely, saying thank you and instantly going to Youtube. 

He played Hamilton songs, singing to them, slightly dancing the best he could in a car, lip-synced, and was overall dramatic about it. 

Nerris rolled her eyes playfully, this was going to be a long drive.


	3. Short Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trio has fun, unfortunately only for a little while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this took a while, my beta reader was sick!

“Preston- I love you but if I have to listen to one more Hamilton song!-” 

“Alrighttttt…! I’ll change it! I’ll put on another musical… OO! THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA!” 

Nerris rolled her eyes. “Can I get a turn on the music?” 

“Hmm.. no.” 

“Preston!”

Nerris reached out for the phone. Preston laughed, moving his arms to avoid her grabbing hands. 

Nerris unbuckled her seat belt and clambered onto Preston, who had the phone far out of her reach with his long arms. 

“Nerris! Be careful sweetie! Put your seatbelt back on.” 

“One sec Mom! Give it Preston!” 

“NEVER! THE OPERA MUST BE HEARD!” 

Nerris tugged on Preston’s arm, bringing it closer. She swung her free hand and it caught the end of the phone. 

With that she tugged, falling back into her seat and a tug of war begun. Each side pulled, “It’s my turn!” “It’s still MY turn!” 

“Hey, both of you! We’re here!” Nerris’s mother smiled as Nerris and Preston both let go at the same time, the phone plopping on the car seat. 

Preston was quick to turn it off and stopped the music. 

The two looked out the window, Preston’s face scrunched up with disgust. “It’s so… ugly.” 

“Yeah.. even I can agree with you. Where’s all the life? And the farm animals?” 

The car drove slowly into town. 

Nerris felt unease as they drove, the stares from the people were cold and full of hatred. 

“Which house number did you say it was again?” Her mom said. 

“Oh! Uhm.. 043.” 

The car made a turn, going down the dirt roads. Ahead was a burnt black looking house. 

The car stopped. “Here we are.. Are you sure that I can’t just pick Harrison up and we’ll go somewhere?”

“No mom! We prepared for this! Besides Harrison said his parents wouldn’t let him leave.” 

“What?” There was concern in her voice, but it was overshadowed as Preston unbuckled himself and opened the door. He grabbed his backpack and slung it on his back.

“Let’s GO Nerris!” Preston’s nonexisting fear gave Nerris a much-needed push. 

“Bye, mom! Love you!” She stood up on the car seat and leaned over, hugging her mom. She zipped up her backpack, forgetting she had unzipped it, before slinging it on and opening the car door, taking a step out onto the dirt and closed the door. 

Nerris’s Mother watched as they walked to the house. She wasn’t going to leave back home, she was going to visit the town over, just in case anything happened and they needed her. 

Her car reversed, before driving off. The kids had phones anyways, she could trust them. 

-=-

Nerris and Preston walked up the steps of the porch and stopped at the door. 

“You ready Nerris?”

“Of course I am!” 

They shared a smile before Nerris knocked on the door. Around 30 seconds later, the door creaked open slightly. Green and yellow eyes appeared from the dark house. “H-Hello..?” A voice croaked. 

Nerris and Preston stepped into view of the crack. “Harrison!” 

The door opened wider, showing the magician. The two proceeded to tackle hug Harrison, sending him crashing to the wood floor. 

“Ow! Hey guys-” He was cut off as the two squeezed him very tightly, which he hugged them both back. 

“We missed you!” “Terribly missed you!” 

“I-I’ve missed you guys too, everyone in fact.. It’s boring and lonely here..” 

“Harrison. Who are these two.” 

The magician scrambled out from under his friends so fast and stood tall at the heap of his friends on the floor. His arms were straight by his side, as he stared up at his mom. 

“Mother. T-This is Nerris and this is Preston.” 

Harrison’s mother glared at them, the two were sure they felt chills down their spines. 

“Hmm.. I suppose they will do. Though you are quite suspicious.” She glared heavily at Nerris, making eye contact. 

Nerris nervously waved back, to which the mother blinked at. 

She turned back around and walked down the hallway, her heels clicking against the wood. 

Harrison sighed in relief, slumping a bit, before straightening right back up. “Alright guys, let’s go to my room, we can decide what we want to do from there.” 

Preston and Nerris picked themselves off from the ground. They walked down the hall and went into Harrison’s room. 

“What was that about Harrison?” 

“Um- Well.. my parents are.. y’know.. strict..” He rubbed his arm, uncomfortable. 

Preston and Nerris shared a look, before turning back to Harrison. 

“Okay.. What do you have to do?” Preston tried to ease the awkwardness. 

“Um.. I have a treehouse..! We can play d&d in there Nerris!” 

“A treehouse?! You never told me that Harrison!” 

“You never asked!” Harrison excitedly grabbed their hands and dashed out of the house through the backdoor. 

In the crummy backyard, a forest was closeby, which they headed straight towards. A sturdy tree was seen, and the two looked up, seeing the treehouse. 

“C’mon!” Harrison let go and began climbing up the ladder nailed into the tree. He soon disappeared behind the curtain door, before poking his head out the window. 

“You coming?” Preston and Nerris wasted no time climbing up and in. 

Inside the treehouse, it was really cozy and surprisingly spacious. There were beanbags and a small table, along with cupboards of toys and games. 

“Harrison this is awesome!” Preston was in awe. 

“Thank you. Me and my brother set it up, our parents built it.” He had a sad smile. 

“So! A campaign you say? This is a perfect environment for the deed! I, of course, will be the Mage! You’re the Dwarf Harrison- andddd Preston is the Bard!” 

Harrison’s sad smile went away and was replaced with a genuine one, “Alright let’s play!”

-=-

After a while, they decide to wrap up their campaign, it was getting far too long, and they haven’t even seen the town! Nerris was contemplating just leaving the sheets there, or packing up. 

She decided to just leave their stuff there and go into town, much to Harrison’s discomfort. 

Preston had wanted to see if there were any food places or stores. 

“It’s not too late to go back to my house guys..” 

“Nonsense! We must OBSERVE where our beloved magician resides!” They stepped foot into the town, looking at the old buildings. 

Preston was immediately awed at the old fashion clothing in the windows. “These would make for some excellent costumes! I can see them in action now, on the stage, lights on them, singing their hearts out…” He sighed dreamily.

“Preston I thought were we here for the food..?” Nerris piped in. 

“Psh. As if I’d miss an opportunity to look at vintage clothes! Preposterous!” 

Nerris looked at Harrison, who was hunched in on himself, clearly uncomfortable. 

It was only then she noticed the eyes, the tons of eyes from the residents of the town staring at them. How could they not? The three looked different, dressed different, and acted differently, it was bound to catch some stares. 

Nerris looked back to Preston, who was gone, and the door was swaying as if he had just run in. Nerris rolled her eyes before going to Harrison. 

“Hey.. are you okay? You don’t look so.. good..” 

Harrison merely blinked before turning his attention to her. “Oh. Um.. I’m fine..” 

Nerris paused, thinking for a second. “We can leave if you want.” 

Harrison’s eyes darted around. “Y-Yes please.” He spoke so quietly, she didn’t hear him. 

Before she could ask to repeat himself, the door opened with a bell sound and Preston came out with a pristine vintage cloak. “This is marvelous! Simply gorgeous! And incredibly cheap for something like this!” 

She deadpanned. “You actually bought something.” 

“Of course! I couldn’t pass it up when it was only 5 dollars!” 

She rolled her eyes again. 

The three walked more into town, looking at all the sights. The streets were rather empty and the no humans were out in the open. They had to move out of the way as an old car drove by. 

It was strange how dead this town looked. 

Nerris huffed in boredom. “Can’t we do something else? It’s boring and hot. It’s draining my mana points.” 

“In a second in a second..” Preston pushed. 

Nerris grumbled before looking back at Harrison, who had become more nervous. 

“G-Guys I think we should go..” 

“Why? We’ve only just started looking around!” Preston whined. 

“Please they- they’re not happy about me here..” 

“Well, we’re not- wait what.. Whose not happy with you here?” Preston was confused and his eyes followed to where Harrison suddenly pointed at. 

The townsfolk. 

They had nasty stares and growls planted on their faces. 

“T-They think- that I-I .. I..” 

“WITCH!” 

Their heads darted to the source of the sound. A deranged lady stood nearby, with rocks in her hands. 

Harrison’s eyes widened like saucers and he hid behind the taller boy. 

“Hiding won’t do you any good boy!” Another voice spoke, a man stood on the other side of them. 

Harrison was trembling against Preston, and at that moment the actor had instantly regretted coming to the town. 

“He’s not a witch!” Nerris spoke up, as more people had come closer, slowly surrounding them. 

Nerris spotted an opening, so she grabbed each boy’s hand to prepare. 

“Lying won’t save you now!” 

“GET THE WITCH!” 

“BREAK HIS BONES!” Their chanting terrified the kids. 

Soon the deranged lady had raised her arm and thrown one of her rocks. 

The kids managed to dodge it, but another was thrown and Harrison cried out in pain. 

“Harrison!” Preston and Nerris voiced. 

That’s it. 

Nerris tightened her hold on their hands and started running. 

More cries of pain as they pushed past the townsfolk, going for the opening. 

Preston yelped as he was hit with a rock on his arm, and Nerris had almost fallen when one hit her hip. 

A few more rocks hit home and they finally made it out of the circle. They ran as fast as they could.

“AND DON’T COME BACK!” 

“NEVER COME BACK, WITCH!”

-=-

They finally stopped to catch their breaths. They weren’t far from the house at all, and there was a table bench nearby, so they sat on it. 

It was that, that a sob escaped Harrison, and he put his head on his arms, crying. 

“H-Harrison! I am so dreadfully sorry this happened love! So sorry! Please don’t forgive me, I’m awful for doing this to you! Even when you were uncomfortable I still made you go! I’m so sorry dear!” Preston hugged Harrison’s body the best he could. 

Nerris without hesitation had joined in on the hug. They sat there for a minute before Harrison had finally stopped. 

“It’s okay.. I’m used to this stuff..” 

Preston gasped dramatically. “No, it is absolutely NOT OKAY! You shouldn’t be used to this stuff ONE BIT!” 

“Yeah! You took a lot of damage back there! If you’re used to that- then does that mean your health points are never full? Harrison why didn’t you tell us your town is one big bully!?” 

“I.. um.. It’s just not something I wanna talk about..” 

“Harrison! You MUST tell US! What else happens to you?!?” Preston seemed as frantic as Nerris was, even more so. 

“Harrison..” Said magician looked at Nerris. 

“Do your parents..” 

Oh no.. 

“Hurt you..?” He visibly flinched. 

Both Preston and Nerris silently gasped, and they just hugged him tightly. 

“We’ll save you, don’t worry.” Harrison smiled lightly. They stayed in that hug for 5 minutes, before letting go. 

“So.. Wanna see some magic tricks?”

“Yeah!”

-=-

Harrison did his magic tricks for a while, Preston occasionally butted it with his drama and acting, but other than that, they had fun, that was, until Harrison’s mother ruined everything. 

“HAH! I WIN! YOU DIDN’T PICK MY CARD!” 

“... Preston.. That’s because you chose two instead of one.” 

“Well, you should have picked both my cards!” Harrison sighed, shuffling his cards. 

“Fineeeee.. I’ll accept your challenge.. Pick two cards!” He held them all out. 

Preston giggled pointing to the cards. Harrison shuffled them again. 

“Areeeeee... these? Your cards?” He held out a red queen and black 7. 

Preston laughed, “You’re half right! I only picked one card!” 

Harrison’s cheeks heated up. “Preston! That’s cheating!”

“Both of you are so dumb..” 

“No you.” Preston quickly said. 

Nerris squinted her eyes at him. 

“It’s fine it’s fine, I’ll just do another card trick that doesn’t involve Preston.” 

The actor gasped dramatically, pretending to be offended. 

“Alright Nerris, pick a-” 

“HARRISON!” 

All of his cards dropped to the floor, they floated down pathetically. 

Their heads turned to a raging adult, storming her way over to them. 

Harrison instantly got up from the bench. His body trembled as his Mother stopped in front of him. “M-Mother! I c-can explain! I was just-” 

Harrison was given no time to explain himself before his Mother raised her hand and swung it down. He cried out in pain as he crashed into the dirt. 

“HARRISON!” Nerris and Preston were on their feet in seconds, they helped their friend off the ground. 

Harrison couldn’t hold back his tears, which promptly slid down his face. The sight of them made Nerris snap. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!” 

Nerris immediately had untamed aggression. Her elf ears seemed to point up in anger. 

The mother made a sound of disgust. “Out of my way, FILTH!” 

Nerris stepped forward, a growl rising in her throat. The mother raised her hand again and Nerris quickly reached for her 7-sided die on the table. 

Just as the hand came down again, she chucked the die into the mother’s face. 

She screeched, stepping back a bit. Nerris confidently smiled. 

“N-Nerris! Why would you do that! You’ve made it so much worse.. much worse oh god..” Harrison cried to her, as Preston held his trembling form. 

“What? No I’m trying to protect us, not make it worse!” 

The mother finally washed away the pain in her face, and she pointed at Nerris. “DEVIL CHILD!” 

Her scream was so loud. 

“GET AWAY FROM THIS HOUSE! NOW!” She effectively kicked Nerris over. 

“Nerris!” Preston cried. 

Harrison’s mother loomed over them. She grasped a handful of Harrison’s hair and pulled him away from Preston. 

Harrison’s fat tears slid down his face as he desperately cried for his mother to let go, but she refused. 

Nerris and Preston dashed over as the mother dragged poor Harrison to the house. 

“Please let him go!” “Please stop, you’re hurting him!” 

“SILENCE! YOU TWO DEVIL CHILDREN ARE BANISHED FROM THIS TOWN! LEAVE!” The father had come from a barn with pitchforks, and he started approaching them. 

When he was about 25 feet, he chucked one and it landed near the two. 

They ran away, hiding behind a dead bush, helplessly watching as Harrison was dragged against the dirt by his hair. 

“NEVER AGAIN WILL I ALLOW PEOPLE OVER! What was I thinking… I need to go to church and pray.. BUT NOT BEFORE YOUR PUNISHMENT FOR BRINGING THOSE WRETCHED THINGS INTO OUR HOME!” 

“Mother, please! I’m so sorry! Please don’t lock me up again!” 

“SHUT UP! YOU ARE GOING IN THAT ROOM, AND YOU WILL NOT COME OUT FOR 3 WEEKS! THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU’VE DONE!” She did not stop screeching, everyone in town probably heard. 

“NO! NO PLEASE! I’LL DO ANYTHING!” 

“YOU WILL BEHAVE!” He was dragged onto the porch and through the door. 

“NO PLEASE!! NERRIS! PRESTON! PLEASE! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME-” The door slammed shut. 

The two stared at the door in terror. This was a lot worse than they thought, maybe they should get Max to help. 

Should they tell the rest of the campers? No, not yet. They both turned to look at each other. 

“We need to get him out of here.”


End file.
